The present invention concerns a hinge, more specifically a hinge giving a neat look to the mounting area of a door without being exposed to the outer surface of the door, facilitating mounting and removal of the door and enabling the door to be opened and closed either inwardly or outwardly.
Conventionally, a door mounted at the entrance of a house or a room is provided with a hinge between the open frame and the door to enable opening and closing of the door. This hinge normally consists of 2 hinge elements fit to each other by means of a single shaft so as to be able to open and close, these hinge elements being fixed to the open frame and the door, respectively, by screws.
The conventional hinge used to be made of such materials as stainless steel, brass, aluminum alloy, etc. and was provided with a coating or plating on the outer surface, as required, and also with various kinds of design in some cases. However, no matter how neatly and gorgeously it may be manufactured, a hinge mounted between the open frame and the door by screws in a place visible from outside the door could not maintain a neat look for the mounting area of the door, and also presented a problem of troublesome work for tightening and loosening set screws for mounting and removing the door.
Moreover, a conventional hinge mounted by being set in advance to open and close the door either inwardly or outwardly, also had a problem of inconvenience of use, because the direction of opening and closing of the door cannot be changed once the door is installed, even in the case where the room could be used more conveniently if the direction of opening and closing of the door is changed after a change in the arrangement of furniture, etc. in the room.
The objective of the present invention, realized in light of the problems of conventional types of hinges, is to provide a hinge that gives a neat look to the mounting area of a door without being exposed to the outer surface of the door, facilitating mounting and removal of the door and enabling the door to be opened and closed either inwardly or outwardly.
To achieve the objective, the hinge according to the present invention comprises a hinge spindle unit buried flush with the top and bottom lines on the fixed end of the door and disposed in a way to allow protrusion and retraction of the spindle. A hinge body unit is buried at a position facing the hinge spindle unit of the open frame, has the protruding spindle inserted therein, and supports the door so it can both open and close.
The hinge of the present invention is designed to support the door in a way to both open and close it as the protruding and retracting spindle of the hinge spindle unit, buried flush with the top and bottom lines on the fixed end of the door, is inserted in the hinge body unit buried at a position facing the hinge spindle unit of the open frame. It thus becomes possible to give a neat look to the door mounting area without exposing the hinge to the outer surface of the door, and allow the door to be opened and closed either inwardly or outwardly.
Plus, this hinge makes it possible to mount or remove the door in and from the open frame with just a protruding and retracting operation of the spindle, without tightening or loosening set screws as with conventional hinges, and thus facilitates mounting and removal of the door.
The hinge spindle unit can comprise a spindle case body, a spindle inserted in the spindle case body in a way to be locked and protrude and retract under the urging force of a spring, and a stopper holding the spindle in a state retracted in the spindle case body. This makes it possible to not only easily bury the hinge spindle unit in the door, but to also facilitates mounting and removal of the door in and from the open frame, by holding the spindle in a state retracted in the spindle case body with a stopper.
Moreover, the hinge spindle unit can comprise a spindle case body, a spindle inserted in the spindle case body so as to be locked and forming a rack gear biting with a pinion disposed in the spindle case body and capable of protruding and retracting by turning the pinion, and a stopper holding the spindle in a prescribed position. This makes it possible to not only easily bury the hinge spindle unit in the door, but to also facilitates protrusion and retraction of the spindle, facilitates mounting and removal of the door in and from the open frame, and stably mounts the door in the open frame.
Furthermore, the hinge body unit can be comprised of a hinge body provided with a boss in which to insert a spindle and a cam slidably supported in the hinge body for retracting the spindle. This makes it possible to not only easily bury the hinge body unit in the open frame, but also facilitates quick mounting and removal of the door in and from the open frame.
The hinge body unit can also be comprised of a hinge body buried and fixed at a position facing the hinge spindle unit of the open frame and a slide base disposed slidably against the hinge body and forming a spindle insertion hole so as to be fixed at any desired position on the hinge body. This makes it possible to easily adjust the position of the spindle insertion hole and mount the door accurately in the open frame.